1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to recording medium reproducing apparatus, and more particularly, to a recording medium reproducing apparatus provided with a computer unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a recording medium reproducing apparatus in which a CD-ROM is inserted into an inlet halfway by a user and is taken out by a user after it is ejected halfway from the inlet, it is desirable that the inlet has a structure by which the CD-ROM may be inserted smoothly and easily. It is also desired that the CD-ROM may be firmly supported by the inlet when it is taken out from it.
FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a disk inlet of a conventional CD-ROM reproducing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1A, the disk inlet of the CD-ROM reproducing apparatus 300 has a structure in which a disk supporting member 302 is attached to the back of a disk inlet member 301.
The disk inlet member 301 includes a disk inlet 301a and a back surface 301b of a flat shape.
The disk supporting member 302 is made of felt of a sheet type and includes a slit 302a. The slit 302a forms a pair of wing portions 302b and 302c.
The position of the disk supporting member 302 is determined so that the slit 302a is located at the center of the disk inlet 301a. The disk supporting member 302 may be thermally adhered to the back surface 301b of the disk inlet member 301.
When a CD-ROM (hereinafter also referred to as a disk) 11 is inserted, the wing portions 302b and 302c of the disk supporting member 302 are elastically deformed as shown in FIG. 1B by being pushed by the disk 11 (the arrow shown in FIG. 1B indicates the direction in which the disk 11 is inserted). The wing portions 302b and 302c thus deformed support the disk 11 by holding the disk 11 with an elastic returning force thereof.
When the disk 11 is ejected, on the other hand, the wing portions 302b and 302c support the disk 11 by elastically deforming in the direction opposite to the insertion direction of the disk 11 as shown in FIG. 1C (the arrow shown in FIG. 1C indicates the direction in which the disk 11 is ejected).
The part of the wing portions 302b and 302c, respectively, which contacts the back surface 301b of the disk inlet member 301 is thermally adhered to the back surface 301b. Therefore, only the part of the wing portions 302b and 302c which does not contact the back surface 301b may be elastically deformed. That is, the part of the wing portions 302b and 302c corresponding to the disk inlet 301a may be deformed and the length of the part is short.
Accordingly, the angle of the wing portions 302b and 302c when elastically deformed by the insertion of the disk 11 reaches about 90 degrees, and hence the disk 11 is strongly held by the wing portions 302b and 302c. Thus, a relatively large force is required for inserting the disk 11 into the disk inlet 301a and ease of insertion of the disk 11 is not very good.
Also, as mentioned above, it is desirable that the disk 11 is firmly supported by the wing portions 302b and 302c when ejecting the disk 11 since the user (operator) is not holding the disk 11. However, since the wing portions 302b and 302c are originally located in the same plane, it is difficult to support the disk 11 with a sufficient force.
Moreover, the disk supporting member 302 is worn every insertion/ejection operation of the disk 11. Thus, it is necessary to exchange the disk supporting member 302 after a certain time period. However, since the disk supporting member 302 is thermally adhered to the back surface 301b of the disk inlet member 301, it is not possible to exchange only the disk supporting member 302 and it is necessary to change the disk inlet member. Accordingly, extra maintenance cost is necessary for the conventional recording medium reproducing apparatus.
Further, it is not easy to thermally adhere the disk supporting member on the back surface 301b of the disk inlet member 301.